Day: December 31, 2009

In January, we first learned that the Brick Store Pub had been named the #2 beer bar by Beer Advocate, that Mayor Floyd was 1 of 100 most influential Georgians, that APD messed up the details in the Standard shooting, that the DeKalb Farmer’s Market was no longer accepting ANY returns (enjoy that smelly shrimp!), I worried about the end of newsprint, the city gave up on any large-scale annexation plans for at least 3 years, Daren Wang and friends launched Agnes Writes after cutbacks at Margaret Mitchell, and a fire destroyed Trackside and 5th Earl.

Looking back on it, few should be surprised that preservation efforts, both historic and environmental, were so aggressive prior to 2008. The construction industry, which single-handedly does more to alter the natural and urban landscape than any other entity, was building at an artificially fast pace, boosted by demand that really wasn’t there.

So it should also be no surprise that in a post-boom era, conservation groups are making up for lost time, buying up land for a fraction of the price it once demanded.

The victories [for conservation groups] reveal a green lining of sorts in a credit crisis that has depressed real estate prices, spawned foreclosures and derailed development projects across the nation.

The purchases by conservationists and state and local governments assure that thousands of acres will be put aside in perpetuity for parks, watershed protection or simply preservation of open space.

“We are getting a second bite at properties that never should have been developed in the first place,” said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit group that buys land for preservation. “We are working on dozens of these deals across the country, and I know other land trusts are as well.”